Morning.
Let’s face it. We are all happy with the reemergence of both David Peterson and Tylor Megill. It looks like (hand to God) that we may just have two long term rotation pieces we can count on.
So, who’s next?
My guess it will be 24-year old, Jose Butto.
The 6-1 righty was signed on as an UDFA in 2017 for only a $5,000 signing bonus. His IP/K/ERA stat line over the past three seasons has been impressive:
2019: Columbia A-ball: 112/109/3.62
2020: Brooklyn A+ ball: 58.1/60/4.32
2021 Binghamton AA-ball: 40.1/50/3.12
But this year has, so far, been off the charts:
2022 Binghamton AA-ball: 13-IP/20-K/0.66
I assume the reason he was held up in AA-ball again this year is the decision that there was no room for him in the Syracuse rotation. That being said, a decent amount of pitchers that everyone assumed would be starting there right now have even been DFA’s, remain on the Mets roster, or are on the Mets taxi squad.
My hopes is that he is the first team move this year from Binghamton to Syracuse, which would set him up for the next man up.
I want to spend a little more time on a subject I wrote about last week. Seems the subject of over or under slotting needs some further explanation,
Drafting COLLEGE SENIORS is the usual target for under slotting. Why? Simple. They have absolutely no bargaining power. They must accept a limited bonus offer because they can’t go back and play another year of school ball.
Drafting COLLEGE JUNIORS tends to be near the amount their slot calls for. Yes, there are some that get more and others get less, but if they go back to school. For their senior year, which gives them no negotiating power a year from them.
Lastly, DRAFTING QUALIFIED HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS, is the tough area to sign anyone. Bonus applications set by the league really don’t carry much weight here because both the major league team and player know they can turn down an offer and go play three years of college ball instead. If you want a top prospect here, you’re probably going to have to pull out the wallet.
It’s going to be interesting to see where Tennessee RHP Ben Joyce goes.
The 6-5 red-shirt junior reliever has pitched in 17 games this year, with no saves (the team only has one total save because they going into the ninth ahead by a thousand runs), posting a stat line of 1-1, 1.10, 16.1-IP, 30-K.
But that’s not what is interesting here.
Joyce is consistently throwing a fastball in the 101-103 range and, in fact, is now hitting 104. Add a a short slider with spin in the 2400 RPM range and he has simply become un-hittable in April.
Joyce will obviously be the first reliever picked in July. It will be curious who moves on him and in what round.
Butto should definitely be promoted to AAA ASAP. He is on the same trajectory as Megill was last year, when Tylor was in AA to start the season and got promoted to AAA around now. They may be keeping him in Binghamton for now because the team ERA without his stats is well over 7.00 at the moment.
ReplyDeleteMack, draft explanation is good - but what did the new CBA change about the draft going forward, if anything?
I don't think they changed anything for 2022/2023
DeleteI don’t think high school pitchers will turn down millions to go roll the dice with college coaches. These coaches run them into the ground, so if a team offers say Matt Allen $2.5MM rather than the $3MM he wanted, it shouldn’t be an issue. However, if a pit her isn’t offered a sizable deal, then he goes to school.
ReplyDeleteConsider the high school pit her the Mets gave $1,000,001 after drafting him in round ten. He signed, then got hurt after one inning, then retired. Imagine that kid going to college. He gets nothing.
The things I wanted everyone to understand here is the limited negotiation powers of college juniors and seniors.
DeleteLove the speed but the first thing that comes to mind is has he had TJS and is that factored into the equation.
ReplyDeleteOn Ben Joyce, anyone throwing that hard that early is due to have arm problems. I would pass on him in the draft, and after he has recovered from TJS, then we can re-Joyce.
ReplyDeletePaul, almost every hard throwing pitcher gets hurt. We just need an abundant supply. The days of 10 year pitchers is in danger of extinction
ReplyDeleteWe drafted a Ben Joyce a few years ago - he needed TJS. I wrote about him at 12:00.
ReplyDeleteMay 1: Ben Joyce , the University of Tennessee pitcher, threw a 105.5 mph fastball in the eighth inning of the team’s win over Auburn. It was the fastest pitch ever thrown in college baseball history, breaking his own record he set in March when he fired a 104 mph fastball against South Carolina. The pitch just barely missed breaking Aroldis Chapman’s MLB record 105.8 mph pitch in 2010.
ReplyDelete